


Little Sunshine

by flowerywoo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 01:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20183932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerywoo/pseuds/flowerywoo
Summary: Somewhere in between receiving sticky notes and motivational encouragement, Jaehyun learns that his secret admirer plays a huge portion in his daily life. But life isn't as simple once he finds out his little sunshine, as he refers to his admirer, is set to move away.





	Little Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Little Sunshine
> 
> Genre(s): High School!AU, Slice of Life (well fitting if you think about it), Fluff (I need a friend like Xuxi), Secret Crushes! (does that count as a genre?)
> 
> Rating(s): PG-13
> 
> Pairing(s): Jaewoo (main)  
Mentions of Markhyuck
> 
> Additional Notes: This was inspired by all my previous encounters with my twitter crush. Unfortunately, we live in two different parts of the world (this sucks T^T) so, unlike Jaewoo, we will never be able to meet. But I thought it would be cute to write a mini oneshot based on our interactions. I hope other Jaewoo lovers out there enjoy reading this as much I enjoyed writing it.  
P.S: I'm still considering a sequel to this but we'll see! I'm still editing this but I just wanted to post it to get it off my chest lol
> 
> Fun fact: My crush calls me 'Sunshine' and that's how I came up with the name lol

His personal sunshine.

That’s how Jaehyun referred to the person that left him daily notes on his locker, for he concluded that said notes were meant to give him some encouragement. And in most cases, said notes always came to him at the most appropriate times.

And if not, they were always there to remind him to remain optimistic despite the academic obstacles he had to face. And to say he didn’t look forward to them was an understatement. In fact, his first stop, regardless of whether he had to pick something up or not, was always his locker. Because every morning, or most of them at least, he found a little sticky note attached to it containing a rather adorable message to help him get through the day.

And today was no different.

The only different thing about it was the pattern of the paper used. His little sunshine had decided to personalize the note a bit, for they had used two different colored inks to write the little note. And to his surprise, the bottom of the sticky note had a tiny blushing face right at the left corner, which Jaehyun assumed was meant to be some form of symbolic signature.

_Sunshine, you’re very cute, _thought the brunet to himself.

Today’s note consisted of several reminders, such as remaining hydrated and not forgetting to apply some sunscreen on. The brunet merely smiled to himself as he took the note and placed in the back of his phone case, dimples fully on display as he walked away to his first period class with a full smile on his face.

* * *

“Yukhei, you said you’d stop by my house last night to drop off the first portion of the essay. I waited until I realized you wouldn’t show up. Why didn’t you come?” Mark hadn’t waited for Yukhei to sit down with the others. He had bombarded his friend with questions as soon as he put his backpack down. In fact, the brunet couldn’t even blink in confusion since Mark continued ranting about cancelling a possible early evening date with Donghyuck because of him.

Neither Johnny, Taeyong, or Jaehyun were amused by Mark’s sudden outburst. They understood him but realizing that Yukhei was simply staring at him in amusement already told them that it’d be better to ignore their interaction. Mostly for the sake of not getting involved in another petty argument between the two youngsters.

“I forgot, I’m sorry. I was watching a movie with Jungwoo last night and then I forgot about you,” said the taller brunet, not looking apologetic at all as he flashed a black-haired Mark the dorkiest smile he could muster. Yeah, Mark felt like Yukhei deserved to be choked for bailing on him and their biology assignment, but then figured he still needed the first portion of their shared essay so Yukhei would have to live until they turned in the whole thing.

“Interesting. That’s the same thing Donghyuck said over the phone. Look at us now, we are dating,” said Mark, almost sending his friend a teasing smile as he watched the other’s face morph into something that couldn’t be deciphered. Was that amusement or fake disgust?

“Jungwoo and I would never work out. He’s too much of a baby and a scaredy-cat. I like taking care of him platonically, but that’s where it all ends. We’re just best friends.”

Mark rolled his eyes at the other boy. He had told himself the same thing about Donghyuck. He had sworn he’d never see the younger boy as anything other than a best friend but look at him now. The word “whipped” fit him so perfectly might as well be his name now.

“If you say so.” Johnny couldn’t help but to shake his head at the younger boys, almost forgetting that they were a whole year younger than them. At least their bickering kept them all entertained, especially during stressful times where they struggled to balance out their school work and their personal lives. Not to mention that watching Mark and Donghyuck being the cutest couple to ever exist made them all feel like parents trying to protect their kids from other people’s judgement even though, in most cases, they were the ones judging the kids.

They were cute though. Mark could pretend like he was the coolest kid in the playground, but everyone knew he lost his cool whenever his little boyfriend was within his field of vision.

“Jaehyun, have you found out who sunshine is?” asked Taeyong, brushing his blond strands away from his forehead and focusing his full attention on the brunet. Unfortunately, said male could merely shake his head, for he was still clueless about the person behind the adorable notes.

It was like a thrill.

Jaehyun wanted to find out the person behind the daily sticky notes, but he also wanted the person to remain a secret. Not only for him, but for everyone as well. Because at this point, sunshine was like an unofficial cheerleader in his life, for they came to offer unconditional support regardless of the circumstances. Whomever is behind those adorable notes, Jaehyun wanted to be selfish and keep them to himself. Why? Because his little sunshine made him feel special.

“Have you tried coming to school earlier than usual? Maybe you can catch them in the middle of the act,” said Johnny, successfully making the other two boys laugh. It wasn’t like Jaehyun’s admirer was committing a crime, which is precisely why Jaehyun hadn’t done it. The thought had crossed his head in the past, but he disregarded it after realizing that he wasn’t trying to catch a thief. In fact, if he ever figured out sunshine’s real identity, he wanted it to be out of coincidence and not because he planned it.

But one thing was for sure.

Jaehyun was slowly but surely developing _strong_ admiration for the person behind the cute, daily notes that managed to successfully brighten his days. And was that even normal?

He didn’t think so. But he was too far in now to properly care.

* * *

Jungwoo and Donghyuck were walking towards the basketball court together. The team was currently practicing for the season, which apparently was just around the corner, or so Yukhei had told Jungwoo. The only reason why Donghyuck was with him was because Mark wasn’t out of dance practice yet, and the studio was close to the basketball court on the other side of the school.

Yes, it was quite an odd arrangement, but those were technicalities neither Jungwoo nor Donghyuck could bring themselves to care about anymore. They had questioned this several times and they were past that stage at this point.

By the time they reached the basketball court and the tired team players that were walking out of their locker room, the two younger boys were going over the work Jungwoo and Mark were supposed to turn in for their history class. Ironic really, because Donghyuck was a year younger than Jungwoo and Mark, which is precisely why he was still not taking a history course yet. And they weren’t even supposed to be sharing their answers. But Donghyuck mentioned that Mark was still missing a few answers and Jungwoo felt like he could share those answers with his friend.

That’s what friends are for! Besides, Mark would probably let him copy their math homework the following day, so this act of generosity would _definitely_ pay off!

And as the boys were comparing the answers, Jungwoo couldn’t help but to notice the sight of his best friend waving and walking towards them, looking awfully exhausted but still energetic nonetheless. Jungwoo sometimes wondered if Yukhei had an off switch, for the boy radiated unstoppable energy that could potentially become concerning at some point. Fortunately for Woo, he was already used to it. He was still weirded out but used to it nonetheless.

Behind Yukhei, however, was the equally tall frame of the boy he had been crushing on since last year. But it hadn’t been until recently that Jungwoo started to interact with said male indirectly, for he was leaving him little notes that were meant to be a symbolism of his support and his undying not-so-puppy crush on him. But unlike everything he read online, the younger boy rationalized that it’d be better to come off as an admirer, for he was always watching and cheering on the elder from afar.

Yeah, Jungwoo was borderline whipped for Jaehyun, just like Mark, but unlike Mark’s relationship with Hyuck, the little brunet couldn’t even greet the elder properly in the hallways. Jaehyun had absolutely _no idea_ who Jungwoo was.

Smiling at the frightened-looking Jungwoo, Yukhei proceeded to wrap a sweaty arm around him to pull him closer, oddly enough not earning him a single complain from the pretty boy as he increased the grip around his history worksheets. Whatever was making him behave in such a way, Yukhei made a mental note to talk to him about it. That was no normal behaviour for the smaller male and he was not about to have Jungwoo acting in such way around him again. He was going to make sure he reached the bottom of this.

Turning his head to greet Donghyuck, the taller boy couldn’t help but to notice him holding his boyfriend’s assignment. Why did Donghyuck have Mark’s worksheets was something Yukhei didn’t even bother questioning, but what he did question Jungwoo’s behaviour. It was very odd.

“Yukhei, don’t forget we have early practice tomorrow,” said Jaehyun, finally catching up to the three boys, amusement evident in his eyes as he watched the way in which Donghyuck was trying his best to stay away from him and Yukhei, for they were far too sweaty for his taste and he refused to be hugged by either one of them. Still, Jaehyun felt like teasing the younger boy and forcefully pulled him closer, snuggling his sweaty face against the crook of Hyuck’s neck and successfully earning him a bunch of insults that the older boy chose to disregard.

Yukhei nodded at the elder and sent him a genuinely smile. He then proceeded to ask Jungwoo if he was ready to leave. Jungwoo didn’t even bother answering verbally and instead sent his best friend a mediocre nod as a sign of acknowledgement.

Normally, the pretty boy would throw himself at Donghyuck to tease him over his height—despite Woo being _only_ slightly taller than Hyuck—but the boy hadn’t hesitated to jump him the way he did on daily basis. Instead, he had lowered his head and had shoved his completed worksheets to his younger friend who looked as equally confused as Yukhei

Something was definitely wrong.

Affectionally holding out a hand for Jungwoo to take, the little brunet didn’t hesitate before taking it, allowing himself to be pulled away from the other two by no one other than Yukhei himself.

By the time the other two were out of sight, Donghyuck was left confused. He still had Jaehyun attached to him, but he was far too concerned about Jungwoo to pay attention to the elder.

Realizing that he was not getting the reaction he wanted from the younger, the taller male let him go and both proceeded to walk to the dance studio.

But something caught Jaehyun’s attention.

“Hyuck, can I see your friend’s worksheets?”

Handing them over, the younger proceeded to make a joke, something along the lines of going over Jungwoo’s answers to correct him in case he was wrong, but the elder paid him no mind as he went over every single word written in beautiful black ink. The writing was neat, small, and slightly slanted, ironically the same as every single note he had been receiving over the past few months.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

Jaehyun had compared that handwriting to every single one of his friends thinking it was a prank, but as the days went by, the elder concluded that it wasn’t a prank but an actual admirer. It was the same handwriting he looked forward to seeing every single morning; the same handwriting he had memorized because it was the only thing that linked him to his little sunshine.

And yet, despite the sudden realization, Jaehyun couldn’t bring himself to chase after Yukhei. He had wanted to find out who his little admirer was, but something was stopping him from chasing after the two boys that had taken off together almost immediately.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

No.

He was far from okay. He was surprised, dumbfounded, and somewhere between relieved and scared to finally speak to his little sunshine.

“Hyung, I need Jungwoo’s worksheets. Mark still needs to finish the assignment,” said the younger male, pointing at the papers Jaehyun was currently holding and refusing to let go of. He needed to make sure. He had to find out who his little admirer was before he could finally approach him.

“Hyuckie, who is Jungwoo exactly?” asked the elder, having a hard time containing himself and his sudden need to find out everything about his admirer.

Donghyuck found the question a little odd, but he still proceeded to tell Jaehyun the most general information he could muster about his friend.

“He’s Yukhei’s best friend. Mark and I have known them since junior high, and we honestly thought they were a thing. But Yukhei confessed that they’re only best friends and nothing more than that. Jungwoo hyung is honestly very pretty. I told Mark that I used to have a puppy crush on him when I was younger,” Jaehyun couldn’t help the smile that decorated his lips. Jungwoo was really pretty, much like Donghyuck had mentioned, but refrained from making any comments.

“He likes to sing a lot. We actually have been in the choir together since junior high and his voice is mesmerizing, hyung. You need to hear him singing to fully understand where I'm coming from. He absolutely _despises_ math, you should tutor him sometime the same way you tutor me. Yukhei mentioned that his parents are considering moving, and that means he’ll most likely end up being transferred to another school, which would explain why Yukhei has been attached to him by the hip lately but it isn’t decided yet. Oh! Jungwoo accidentally told me the other day that he really likes someone, though I'm still trying to figure out who it is. I really hope he stays. Or maybe he manages to confess before moving away. That would be cute, wouldn't it?”

That was a lot of information to take in.

Out of all the things Hyuck had mentioned, the moving away part had caught him off guard. He had just found out who his sunshine is, and he was not about to let him go without getting a proper introduction at the very least, because Jungwoo was Jaehyun’s personal form of caffeine—that was a very weird comparison but it was the most fitting one for the younger brunet—at the beginning of his days, and he couldn’t picture what it’d be like to not receive daily sticky notes anymore.

Jungwoo was precious, and Jaehyun could finally admit to himself that he liked him even before figuring out who he was. But now that he was fully aware that there were chances of his sunshine being taken away from him, the chances of not meeting each other were becoming an unexpected burden he didn’t want to think about. And now? All Jaehyun wanted was to properly hold a conversation with the younger boy to fully express how his little sticky notes have helped him daily, whether it was directly or indirectly, for they gave him full reassurance that he could do anything.

But without his little sunshine around, would he still be able to make the best out of his days?

* * *

Later that night, Jungwoo and Yukhei were cuddling together in Woo’s bed. The medium sized snoopy pushie had been kicked to the side by no one other than Yukhei, rightfully claiming his place as he obnoxiously wrapped his abnormally long limbs around the smaller boy. And despite how badly Yukhei had tried making him laugh, the little brunet hadn’t cracked a single smile.

“Is this about the whole moving away fiasco?” asked his friend, unable to stop himself from bringing up this topic despite how badly Jungwoo had been trying to push it to the deepest part of his mind.

He didn’t want to move away.

He didn’t want to leave his friends behind and start all over again. How could he possibly go to school without Yukhei? They had been best friends since he could remember! He was still trying to convince his parents to reconsider staying, but they were refusing to listen to the child regardless of whatever approach he used. The emotional approach hadn’t gone so well. His parents merely agreed to let him sleep over at Yukhei’s once a month. That is not what he was aiming for, but his parents weren’t considering him at all. The child was beyond frustrated, but maybe moving away would be great for him.

It’d keep him away from Jung Jaehyun, whom he had been in love with for a little over a year now. And did the boy know him at all? Of course not. And just when Jungwoo had decided to slowly approach said junior, his parents had dropped the bomb on him that they’d be moving away.

Peachy.

Three months ago, Jungwoo had been hoping for his parents to change their mind about moving. But now, a whole three months later, his parents were more than decided to move. He was supposed to request for his current transcripts at school so he could finish the paper work to enroll in his new school. He was yet to tell Mark and Donghyuck about it, and he wasn’t planning to confirm or deny anything. He’d hold himself back for as long as he could, and he’d drop the bomb on them a few days after transferring. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye. He didn’t want to say goodbye.

He had to figure out a way to say goodbye to Jaehyun as well, though it didn’t matter whether he let him know or not. At the end of the day, Jaehyun didn’t know of his existence, and that was the most annoying part of it all. He had no one to blame but himself for the other’s lack of interest.

“Yukhei, promise me you won’t tell Mark and Hyuckie about me moving away,” said the brunet, awkwardly turning his body around the other’s hold to properly face him. Nodding at his friend, Jungwoo merely sent the taller boy a smile as he looked around his room.

There were boxes lying around every corner, and other minor things had already been packed. In fact, Jungwoo’s comic books, posters, and bookshelf had been taken to the other house already. His drawers were almost empty and the only things in his closet were an extra few outfits he had put together to last him for the rest of the week. Starting next week, he’d be living somewhere else and going to a different school. He’d be stuck starting all over again much like he had done several years prior when he first met Yukhei in fifth grade. He honestly wasn’t excited at all.

“I have a confession,” said Jungwoo, slightly pulling away from his lanky friend and sitting down on the bed. The darker brunet boy couldn’t help the chill that went down his spine. Was Jungwoo about to confess to him? Had he been harboring feelings for years and was about to tell him all about it? Oh no, Yukhei wasn’t prepared for that!

“P-Please don’t tell me you’re in love with me,” said the brunet out loud, almost not realizing that whatever just came out of his mouth could be enough to hurt Jungwoo’s feelings if he really was about to confess. But could anyone blame him? He loved his best friend to the moon and back, just not romantically. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship together either.

Jungwoo blinked once.

Twice.

“What? What are you talking about, Xuxi?”

Yukhei blinked in confusion and refused to make eye contact. Had he gotten things wrong? Had he gotten ahead of himself and ended up misinterpreting the situation?

However, instead of questioning him further, the pretty boy merely laughed at his best friend’s dejected expression and proceeded to stroke Yukhei’s strands affectionately. The other boy looked away in shame and wished for the bed to swallow him whole. Of course, he had misinterpreted everything. There was no way Jungwoo liked him romantically. They were simply platonic and he had nothing to worry about.

“Xuxi, I wasn’t going to confess to you. I mean, yes, you’re very handsome, and I’m sure you’d make anyone happy, but not me. You make me happy in a completely different way, so I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable just now,” said Woo, genuinely sending his best friend a pretty smile that had Yuhkei’s stomach flipping in shame. Jungwoo was seriously too precious to be real. He was so glad there were no feelings between them, because losing him as a friend would be very painful. That was a form of pain he didn’t want to experience. “I wanted to confess to you that I like someone.”

Yukhei blinked once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And was Jungwoo blushing? Jungwoo didn’t blush! He whined whenever he was embarrassed, but the pretty shade of red covering his cheeks and ears was enough to tell Yukhei about the seriousness of the situation.

Holy unicorn. This is a plot twist he never expected.

“Do they know?”

Jungwoo shook his head.

“Are you planning to tell them?”

The little brunet shook his head again.

“Do I know them?”

Jungwo hesitated for a second. He pressed his lips together and turned them into a straight line, internally debating on whether he should tell his best friend or not. How does one go about confessing to their best friend that they have a huge crush on one of their closest friends and teammates? He couldn’t. He simply couldn’t.

“So I know the person. Your silence says it all,” said the taller boy, affectionately stroking Jungwoo’s brunet strands whilst the other merely pouted.

Maybe Yukhei knew him a little too well for his own good.

“What do I do, Xuxi? I want to tell him how much I like him, but it’s pointless now. I’m moving away so is it really worth it? Will anything change?”

Yukhei didn’t answer. Instead, he brought the other’s smaller frame closer to him, wrapping his arms around Woo and trying his best to comfort him. He was right. There was nothing he could do at this point, so what did it matter now? The only thing he could do was cry. Cry for the times he had the chance of approaching Jaehyun but didn’t. Cry for the times he chose to spend lunch with Hyuck instead of accompanying Xuxi and Mark. Cry for the times he witnessed Jaehyun breaking down under the pressure of keeping up his grades to stay as part of the basketball team. And cry for the times he chose to hide in the shadows instead of being brave and pursuing the older boy.

By the time Yukhei left Woo’s house, he walked away with a heavy heart and new-found motivation to spend these last few days with Jungwoo no matter what. Because clearly, his best friend had chosen to give up on his crush, and the next upcoming days would be the hardest for him.

* * *

There was no sticky note on his locker that morning.

Jaehyun assumed it was due to his early practice. There was no way the younger boy would wake up extra early to surprise him with a motivational note at 6:00 am. If anything, he was almost sure that no normal student would make it to school before the first bell.

But as the morning progressed and first period came around, Jaehyun’s little sunshine was nowhere to be found. In fact, Jaehyun had hardly seen Yukhei around as well. They had greeted each other during their morning practice, but he hadn’t bumped into him at all in the hallways.

By the time lunch came around, the younger boy stopped by their table to drop off the final portion of whatever project he had going on with Mark. He then took off saying he had somewhere to go that day. And when Jaehyun asked Mark about the other boy’s whereabouts, he merely shrugged him off and immersed himself in another conversation with Donghyuck, clearly disregarding the other three boys and pretending like they didn’t exist.

Needless to say, Jaehyun’s day came to an end without catching sight of the younger male he had come to unofficially meet the day before, successfully giving him a sense of anxiety he didn’t think could be possible for him to experience. Maybe his little sunshine was far more important in his life than he gave him credit for.

And that was bad. Jaehyun was slowly falling for someone that seemed to be completely unreachable.

* * *

The rest of the week consisted of Jaehyun trying to get ahold of Yukhei, but the younger boy was always rushing away under the excuse of having something to do.

Whatever was it that Yukhei was busy with was apparently a well-hidden secret, because Mark and Hyuck were just as equally confused as Jaehyun. And truth to be told, Jaehyun couldn’t help but feel as if something was about to happen. Neither Yukhei nor Jungwoo seemed to be around much, and his little sunshine had completely disappeared from his life. There were no more morning notes waiting for him by his locker, the same way that there weren’t many interactions with Yukhei nowadays. After practice, he ran off somewhere before anyone else could stop him.

Jaehyun was officially freaking out now.

But it seemed to him like God decided to pity him enough and shed some light, for he (by some kind of miracle) finally bumped into Jungwoo on Friday after school. And even then, Jaehyun had chosen to quietly follow the younger male around instead of properly approaching him and requesting to have a face-to-face interaction for the first time ever.

But then Jaehyun realized what was about to happen.

Opening his backback and pulling out one of the sticky notes Jaehyun knew so well at this point, the older brunet couldn’t stop himself anymore and went for it. Whatever Jungwoo had written on that sticky note, Jaehyun couldn't bring himself to care. All he wanted was an explanation as to why he had been gone for a whole week. And why was he leaving a sticky note after school hours knowing that Jaehyun wouldn’t be able to read it until Monday morning. Whatever that paper said, Jungwoo could verbalize it and say it face to face, right?

Which is precisely why Jaehyun was currently standing behind a very oblivious Jungwoo, hands deep inside the pockets of his black jeans whilst Jungwoo finished writing on the little sticky note he was planning to leave behind.

“Sunshine?”

Jungwoo halted his movements as he heard the voice of the person he had been avoiding all week.

_Well crap!_

“You’re my little sunshine, aren’t you, Jungwoo?”

Sunshine?

Jungwoo didn’t even know Jaehun had a whole nickname for him, but the butterflies inside his tummy were not letting him rationalize the situation properly. He’ll be damned if he manages to successfully form a coherent thought in front of the person he liked so much.

“Turn around and look at me, Jungwoo. Please.”

How did Jaehyun even know his name?

Regardless of the technicalities of such bizarre situation, the brunet couldn’t help but to comply, for he had been caught in the middle of the act. There was no reason for him to keep hiding. Jaehyun knew his identity—and how long has he known about this? Could it be he never stopped him just to see the full extent of his actions and how long it’d take for him to eventually confess?

However, throwing the thought out the window, the brunet merely complied with the elder and turned around.

And then Jung Jaehyun was standing right in front of him in all his glory. Tall and intimidating with dark eyes that Jungwoo swore could penetrate his soul. And when he took a few steps closer, the younger couldn’t help taking a step back as well, but he was met with the row of lockers against the wall and decided he had no way out of this. Especially when the elder was standing in front of him, eyes filled with what Jungwoo thought was curiosity, but could also potentially be amusement and judgement.

And maybe Jungwoo was simply overthinking everything at this point because of how stressfully overwhelming the situation seemed to be.

But before the younger boy could fully comprehend what was going on, arms were wrapped around his less broad frame as another body pressed completely against his, successfully confusing him and further overwhelming him to the point where tears came out. And without realizing it, the pretty boy reciprocated the embrace, fully hiding his head in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck whilst the elder stroked the younger boy’s brunet strands.

And so Jungwoo cried.

Cried for all the times he could have done this but stopped himself out of fear of rejection. And now? Now this was the only time he’d ever get to experience this, because he was officially moving to his new house the following day and he’d be going to a new school starting on Monday. So he cried even more after realizing that this was goodbye. This was their official introduction and their final interaction as well.

Jungwoo couldn’t figure out whether he wanted to blame the universe for the way things had turned out, or himself for never taking the initiative to approach the elder and let him know about how he felt. But overall, he regretted not taking the initiative of leaving his little sticky notes when he first realized he was crushing on the elder. Had he taken the first steps, maybe Jaehyun and he would be friends now. Maybe they’d be exchanging messages to rearrange possible hangouts whenever he came over for a visit. But no, instead they were barely interacting for the first time ever, with Jungwoo crying on the other’s shoulder for all the time he lost.

Jungwoo learned for the first time ever that heartbreaks didn’t necessarily involve an actual break-up from a long-term relationship, because maybe long-term crushes hurt just as bad.

“I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t brave enough to approach you directly. I’ve been leaving those daily messages as a way to communicate with you. I probably creeped you out and I’m sorry, but—” the younger boy didn’t get to finish his sentence, for he felt the elder pulling away from their unexpected embrace. Jaehyun then proceeded to wipe away the younger’s tears, catching the pretty boy off guard as he realized his crush was trying to comfort him.

“Sunshine, no, it never creeped me out. I thought it was a prank at first, but I came to realize that the handwriting was very distinct. I don’t think you realize how encouraging and amazing it feels to have someone rooting for you, and someone you don’t know at that. Your notes have done nothing but to push me to do better, and for that I must thank you. I come to my locker every morning only to read the little daily messages you leave behind, because believe it or not, they give me the rush of energy I need to start my day. Which is why, this past week you haven’t been around, I’ve felt as if something is missing. You just don’t realize it, Jungwoo.”

Jungwoo blinked once.

Twice.

That was not what he was expecting. That was far from what he had imagined. His daily notes were something Jaehyun looked forward to, and Jungwoo couldn’t be any happier. Unfortunately, given the current circumstances, the pretty boy couldn’t bring himself to be happy for too long. Reality came crashing down almost immediately, making the younger realize once again that such notes wouldn’t occur anymore.

There would be no more notes, no more sneaking around to be able to get a quick peek at the elder walking around the hallways, and no more going to Xuxi’s practices randomly to get to see Jaehyun practicing along with the rest of the team.

Damn, the pain he was going through even though Jaehyun and he were nothing was _absolutely_ devastating.

“Sunshine, I—”

“I’m moving away, Jaehyun. My parents found a house they liked and decided to buy it a few months back. I’m moving tomorrow and this whole week I’ve been working on my paper work to enroll in a different school. Starting on Monday, I will not be leaving any more sticky notes on your locker to give you daily encouragement,” said the younger, forcing the words out of his chest.

After the nice words Jaehyun had said, he couldn’t keep pretending like the sticky notes would keep coming every morning. He honestly wasn’t expecting the elder to think so highly of the messages he left him, and he was flattered, truly, but he also had to be realistic and face the facts. Jaehyun would eventually forget about him and his sticky notes anyway, so it was better if he simply told him the reason behind his absence for the past week.

And amazingly enough, Jaehyun looked hurt. Almost in disbelief, for he couldn’t bring himself to accept that Jungwoo was about to leave his life.

And that’s exactly how it was. He was upset and angry, but ultimately sad as well. He remembered Donghyuck’s words from earlier that week, making him realize that it was an official decision now. Jungwoo was moving away and there was nothing anyone could do to stop this. And given the younger’s reluctance regarding the moving away topic, the elder could tell he wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Jungwoo had appeared in his life out of the blue one day and had become an essential part of his daily routine before he realized it. And now he was about to disappear as if he never existed in the first place.

So yes, Jaehyun was _very_ upset.

He had just found out the identity of his little sunshine and he was about to be taken away from him. That was not fair.

Which is why, the elder pulled the younger closer again and embraced him, fully wrapping him up in a protective bubble of comfort that had the pretty boy sobbing once again. Jaehyun’s heart was just as heavy as he tried his best to comfort the younger boy, for the sobs were also breaking his own heart.

Jaehyun regretted not meeting the younger sooner. Maybe if they had met each other sooner, this interaction wouldn’t be so painful for both.

Disregarding the personal boundaries between them, the older boy reached down for Jungwoo’s phone in his back pocket. Amazingly, the younger’s phone was completely unlocked. Disregarding the confusingly adorable wallpaper—a picture of Yukhei and he cuddling in bed together, which was apparently taken by a third party—and the inexplicable pang of jealousy he felt momentarily, the brunet added his phone number to the pretty boy’s contacts and took the liberty to call himself.

Caught off guard by the unexpected ringtone that went off around them, the younger male pulled away from the embrace and realized that Jaehyun was holding his phone. With confusion evident in his eyes, Jungwoo proceeded to watch the elder as he typed away on his phone.

“I’m adding your phone number to my contacts,” said the brunet, handing the younger his phone back.

“I don’t understand. I thought—”

“You can’t leave me daily messages in person, but you can text them to me. Because I think you’re far too important for me to just forget you. I’ll be expecting my daily messages, sunshine, you better not forget about them.”

Shaking his head, the younger boy dived in for another hug that was reciprocated by the elder immediately, only that this time Jungwoo felt a pair of lips pressing against his forehead. But he couldn’t bring himself to look at the elder in the eyes. Instead he hid his head in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck again, taking in the scent of his cologne mixed up with minor traces of sweat from his basketball practice earlier that day.

Maybe coming back to school to leave his crush a final message was worth it after all. Maybe, if he hadn’t turned around after walking away through the entrance of the school after texting Xuxi to meet him at the house instead of walking home together paid off, for he got to learn a few more things about Jaehyun—other than the fact that the elder had a whole nickname for him and that his presence made a difference in his life.

Jaehyun still wanted him to be part of his life, and Jungwoo couldn’t help the happiness he felt.

Maybe, just maybe, Jungwoo’s crush on him wasn’t a crush anymore. Maybe he was officially falling for the person currently embracing him and making him feel better about moving away. Jungwoo couldn’t help the pretty smile that decorated his lips and Jaehyun couldn’t help the unexpected beats his heart skipped momentarily.

* * *

“Did you receive another sticky note from your sunshine, Jung? You seem a little happier than usual,” said Johnny, ignoring Mark and Yukhei’s bickering over the not-so-perfect grade they had received on their project the week before.

Shaking his head, the brunet couldn’t help but smile instead, fully displaying his set of dimples as he sat down and pulled out his phone only to see he had a message from Taeyong requesting for him to buy him something to munch on.

“I received something better than a sticky note this morning,” said the brunet, standing up and grabbing his wallet to go to the snack machine at the far corner of the cafeteria.

“Really? What did you receive?” asked his dark-haired friend, immediately proceeding to tease Donghyuck as he skipped to the table and tried to reach Mark, only to be stopped by the taller male that had made it his personal goal to wraps all four limbs around the younger boy and watching him struggle to be released.

Jaehyun flashed his friend another smile before answering his question.

“A text message,” said the brunet, walking away from his friend and leaving him rather confused.

**From: Sunshine (7:15 AM)**

_“Have a nice day at school, Jaehyun! Stay hydrated and don’t skip meals. Good luck at basketball practice and please watch over Xuxi.”_


End file.
